2-alarm blaze damages Westerleigh home

Staten Island Advance/Bill LyonsFirefighters and EMS personnel on the scene of the 2-alarm blaze at 164 Maine Ave., Westerleigh.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A two-alarm blaze that started in a Westerleigh garage earlier this evening extended to the house, damaging the home, Christmas decorations and imperiling the lives of several family pets.

No one was seriously injured in the blaze, but one person at the scene said there had been a "house full of guests" a short time earlier. The fate of the animals is unknown.

The fire in the garage of 164 Maine Ave. was reported at 8:02 p.m., according to an FDNY spokesman, who said the blaze extended to the house.

More than 25 FDNY units and 106 firefighters were needed to extinguish the blaze, which was reported under control at 9:23 p.m., according to the FDNY spokesman.

A family was seen crying outside the home, with one member yelling that the cats were still in the burning building. A female family member apparently arrived home to find the house in flames.

The blaze spread to the entire left side of the three-story frame house. White siding could be seen melting away and a string of white Christmas lights were still glowing as smoke poured out of the home.